Improvement in machinery for assorting bristles



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. i

. H. SPAFFORD, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'MACHINERY' Foa AssoaTlNG BRISTLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,927, dated March 17, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

T Be it known that I, N. H. SPAFFORD, of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Assorting Bristles; and I do hereby declare that the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

' hereinafter referred to, forms a full and exact specification of the same, wherein I have set forth the nature and principles of my said improvements, by which my invention may be distinguished from all others of a similar class, together with such parts as I claim and 1 desire to 'have secured to me by Letters Patent.

The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in machinery to be used for the purpose of asserting bristles, theL essential features and general operation of which consist in automatically feeding the bristles by means of a new and peculiar ar! rangement of mechanical devices, and at regu-l lar intervals of time, to a traveling horizon-f tal belt, by and upon which they are held, and

A being first carried to the devices described in the schedule annexed to the Letters Patent of George Edward Burt, assignor to himself and p David O. Butterfield, February 7, 1854,0n

certain improvelnents in machines for cleansing and assorting bristles, for the carding or combing, and for the eveningup at one end of the same, are then passed betweenl and carried along by two endless horizontal traveling belts, pulled out, assorted, and deposited, according to their respective lengths, in boxes or receptacles by means of a series of nippers7 placed upon a reciprocating horizontal trav.-v

' feeding devices, to be hereinafter referred to.

In Plate 2, Fig. 6 isa plan or top view. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal vertical section taken Ain the plane of theline'O D. Figs, 6, 8, 9, and

10 are detail views of the devices for operating the nippers.

' A A A, 85e., in the accompanying drawings represent the supporting frame-work of the machine; B, a horizontal driving-shaft, to which a rotary motion may be imparted by any of the well-known modes.

In the upper portion of the frame-work A, and moving over the rollers C C and D D', respectively, are two parallel horizontal endless belts, E and F, in the chamber or space Gr, between which the bristles to be assorted are laid in a direction at right angles tothe same. To these belts E and F,'b v means of devicesarran ged and operated as will be hereinafter described, an intermittent rectilinear motion, in the direction represented by arrows in the drawings, is imparted, consequently feeding the bristles toward the opening H of the said chamber G, a forked swinging plate, I, of the shaft J, held in position by a catch, K, preventing the falling out ofthe same.

Attached and rmly secured to the drivingshaft B of the machine are two cam-wheels, L and M, upon the peripheries of which the 4friction-rollers N and O of vertical bars P and Q, respectively, bear. TheJ peripheriesof these cam-wheels L and M are so formed, and the cams themselves are so arranged with regard to each other upon their shaft B, that a vertical or'up-and-down movement shall be alternately, atand during each quarter-revolution of the driving-shaft, imparted to the said bars P and Q bearing upon the same, and thus correspondingly rotate the horizontal shaft R and hollow shaft S, fastened to or forming a part of the box T. With'thepinion U of said shaft R and gear-wheel V of said shaft S respectively engage the-toothed racks W and X' formed in thev upper portion ofthe said bars. In the box T is placed a sliding plate, Y, having formed upon its inside surface a toothed rack, Z, with which engagesfthe pinion a, placed uponthe end b of the horizontal shaft E, above referred to, and by means of which, when the shaft It is'rotated as described, the sliding plate Y is made to move forward or backward or out of or in its box or fra-me T. Attached to the sliding plate Y in the direction of its length, and extending beyond the end 0 of the same, are two tongues,

d and e, one of which, d, is permanently fastened thereto, while the other, e, being free tol turn upon a pivot or center, f, is made to close upon or open from the xed tongue d, for the purposes to be herein set forth, a pawl', g, serving to hold it in its open position until it is disengaged therefrom by the tension of the cord h, attached at one end thereto, and at the other tothe frame-work A of the machine. Supposing the box T, with its sliding plate Y, to be in the vertical position represented, in which position the fixed tongue d is interlocked with the vertical sliding separator i and the loose tongue e is held open from the same by the Apawl g, the sliding plate, and consequently the separator, from the action of the cam-shaped wheel L upon the rack-bar P and theintermediate gearing above described, t are then moved in a vertical lplane or direction. The separator, passing up through the entire depth ofthe feedchamber G, then sep-` arates or places a layer of the bristles contained therein betweenthe two tongues d and .a` the loose one, e, of which, from the tension 0f the cord 71., closes upon and firmly holds the same, and the separator, finally abutting against and lifting the catch K., disengages it from the forked plate I, that, from the forceofthe spring j, wound Varound its shaft J, turns or swings up clear of the opening H, Y., thereby allowing of the easy removal of thebristles held between thetongues, as described, l

from the said chamber, the bristles remaining in 'the feed-shoulder being prevented from falling out while the forked plate is .raised from the said opening H of the chamber, asv

described, by means of the separator, which is held in front of the said opening bya stoppin, k. This pim k is placed in a horizontal position under the feed-chamber, and for' the f purpose of holding the separator, as above described, is engaged with a suitable aperture in the separator when raised, by .means of a spring vattached in anyproper manner to the same, and. so remains until disengaged therefrom, as will be hereinafter described.

. .The bristles being thus seized and held between the said tongues, the box or frame T, in which the sliding plate Y is placed, ashere inbefore described, is then, from the action of the cam-shaped wheel M upon the bar Q engaging with the gear-wheel Y of .its .hollow shaft S, turned or made to move around .the shaft R as a center asufticient distance, lor through a quarter part of a circle, to bring the said tongues d and e in the same horizonl tal plane with the Aparallel 'horizontal endless traveling belts l and m yof two rollers, a andv o, across. whichthe bristles held between the same are laid. Having thus reached this position, the tongues d and 'e are then made lto release their hold upon the bristles by means -of the vertical lever N', havingva fulcru-m .at 0 in the frame-work A, the upperendpof which bears against vthe .right-.angular arm p i of the tongue e, While against -its -lower`end, as the drivin g-sha-ft revolvesfaprojectin g rod, q, of the same abuts, thereby operating the lever N in such a manner as to cause the loose tongue e,`1urning on its center or pivot f, to open from the bristles resting upon the beltsl and m, in which position it is again held by the pawl g, as hereinbefore stated. The cam L, again operating uponthe rackbar P, as has been hereinbefore described, but at this time in an opposite direction, causes the sliding plate Y to travel back in its box T to the position from which it started, drawing away from and leaving the bristles previously held by the tongues d ande upon the belts l and m, above referred to, and the sliding plate,while thus traveling back, strikes against the projection r of the stop-pin lo, thus withdrawing the same from the separator, which vthen drops by its own weight to the proper position for the fixed tongued to again interlock with it, as the box T is turned 'back upon the shaft R to its vertical position, in consequence of the downward movement of the .rack-bar Q while traveling over the camshaped wheel M, thereby placing the separator in the proper position to again pierce the bristles, for the purposes n and in the manner described, as the drivingsha-ft continues to revolve. Previous, however, to the fall of the separatore', and by the turning of the hollow 'shaft S to bring the tongues d and c toa horita-l position, as described, the tension of the cords, attached at oneend to the shaft J and atthe other `end to shaft S, causes the Vforked plate I to be turned down in front of the opening H, forthe purposes before specified, so that while the bristles are at all times prevented from escaping from the receivingchamber Gr, they are ,yet allowed to be removed by the tongues, as described. v

Invorder to prevent the friction and binding which would necessarily occur upon the pinion U of the shaft R through the toothed rack Z, from. the turning of the box T upon the said shaft, as described, the cam-,wheel L is so shaped Vthat a sufficient movement in a vertical'plane, either up or down, as thev case may be, shall be imparted' to its bar P as the said box isrevolved,to cause the sliding plate or .rack .Z and pinion U to turn over, as it were, like one piece or part, continually keeping the bearing-points the.same,`and thereby preven t; .ng the disadvantageous results above speci.-

` t is a vertical sliding plate of the frame-work A, to which the pawl u, for operating the ratchet-wheel c of the roller C', is attached. Projecting from this plate t in the same vertical pl-ane with the `raclrbar Q is a rightanguiar rarm, w. The bar Q, when moved upward by the revolution of the cam M, abuts against the said arm w, and thus raises the plate t, the pawl u passing loosely over the teeth of the ratchet-wheel c; but as the bar moves downward or back to its original posi-v tion (previous to which, however, as is evident and will be seen from the preceding description, the separator has-withdrawn from the feed-chamber' and the forked plate has been brought down. in front of the same) the plate t also travels down from the force of its spring fr, and the pawl u, then engaging withV y. the teeth of its ratchet-wheel, consequently rotates the same and its roller, C', and by means ofthe pulleys y and z and belt al also rotates the upper one, D, in such amanner as to cause the necessary motion, in the proper -,direction to be imparted to their belts E and F, thus feeding the bristles contained in their .chamber G at the proper time and in'aregular Vmanner toward the opening H, from which they are removed, as described.

. l f. b is a set-screw, and c .aslotformed in .the `,plate t, by means of which the upward and downward movement of the same canbe regulated at pleasure, thus causing agreater or shorter length of motion 4atone time to be imparted to the feedbelts by the intermittent rotation of the kratchet-wheel c.. Thebristles being thus continually and at regular intervals of time laid upon the parallel belts l and m, from the operation ot' thedevices above described, and the said belts. being moved in a i horizontal plane by means ofthe connectingbelt el', passing aroundthe pulley e', and'driving-shaft B, the bristles, while carried. along n10-.1 the same, being carded or combed and evened up at V one andthe proper end by means A ofthedevices hereinbefore referred to as be- L ing ldescribed in the said .Letters Patent of George Edward Burt, andjwhich therefore A need no further description herein, as they constitute no part of the present -invention,

are thereby placed in readiness to beoperated upon by the assorting devices, now about to,

be described. The bristles, moving alonggby the said belts lm, finally leave the same and then pass to and between the horizontalendless belts f and g of pulleys or rollers oo h h', receiving motion from the pulley e through the connecting-beltd of the drivin g-shaft, for

the purpose of being assorted to their ,different lengths in proper boxes or receptacles by means of a.v series of mechanical devices, the

arrangement and operation of which are as follows: .i

7L k is a horizontal platform moving inways fl l of the frame-work, and placed atan angle to the line of travel ofthe belts f jg. (Relire-- sented by arrows in the drawings.) On the platform 7c andV at the end m thereof are placed a series of nippers, n 1d', &c.,that may consist of any desired number, and are so arranged with regard to the same asfto projectbeyond the 'said end at different Vdistances therefrom, according tothe various` lengths towhich it is deemed necessary or best to assort the bristies passing through the machine, it being understood, that the longest Vbristles are to be seized by lthe first nippers,` andso on. Attached by a pin or pivot, o', to thetop surface of theplatform 1r', is a connecting-rod, g', the other end of which is attached by aneth er pin, p', tothe crank r ot' the vertical shaft s. On the lower end of the shaft s isa bevel gearwheel, t, engaging with the teeth of a similar gear, u', of the horizontal longitudinal shaft t, that receives a rotary motion from the drivin g-shaft B through the two bevel gear-wheels w" a1', respcctivelyplaced upon the same. On the upper end of the shaft. s,.andl a little belowy the crank r', isl secured a cam-shaped wheel, y', against-whichrthe frictionroller z of, a horizontal, bar,.a/, passing under the platform k', and in the same longitudinal direction therewith, bears.` This bar'a moves in suitable bearings, and near its end b" a pin orstud, c5' is placed, projecting up into the groove or slot d in thesliding plate e ,placed under and attached to the platform k". (See f" f, &c., are a series of studs projecting above the plate ef, to which they are secured and in the same'longitudinal `pla-ne with the nippers ma', &c., and which, as a sliding motionis given totheir common plate e-i'n a forward and back direction, from the reciproeating rectilinear movement imparted to the horizontal bar a, connected therewith, as described, from the shape of theperiphery of the cam-wheel y', will pass under or away from `the end o of the nippersn, Snc., and thereby each nipper projects moreor less beyond the end m( of the platform kf, will correspondingly seize or nip the ends of the said bristles between their jaws, the upper one of which-being closed upon the same by the operation of the devices above described, and then moving back from theheltsf g', bythebackward travel of their platform-will thereby draw or pullfthe same from between the said belts. Then, having carried them. to the stationary platforms or tables q q, &c., the nippers are opened,as before described. Vertical-tripplates r r, &c., orpointers of. the horizontal sliding rod s above 'the same, being then moved in front of the nippers, slidenor push the `bristles oft of the tables g" q'i, 85e., into a series ofreceptacles or boxes, t" t, `tte., arranged for the reception of the same. 'To-impart the necessary motion to the rod sv",in order to cause its trip-plates 1". r, &c.",t0 pass to and fro in front of the nippers for the saidgpurpose, I attach to the endiu thereof a slanting vertical lever, o, turning on a ful- -perlun, w ofi the frame-Work, Vtheother end of .-Which vmoves in the cam-shaped groove or slot ya ofthe sectoror drum yhpthatis so formed g fas. to give .thenecessaryaud desired-length of A.horizontal'movement tothe trip-plates or pointersr.v rf', Ste.

' that by the arrangement of the nippers upon the platform 7c', and the manner inwhich 'they .are operatedfthe,bristlescan :be drawn out, .from thebeltsyf Ag', between (which theyfare.. being carried-and assorted accordingto their d iiferentlengths, and-deposited-in separate f boxes or receptacles.y accordingly, thus-accomplishing automatically ,theuaccurate assortment and i1-)lacing the bristles Yin separate.:

fboxes, whatever may be the-.variatiou'in the successfully practically attained.

' constructed with their bottom ,pla-te hinged,

t`- bij st les from the vsame without necessitating I tgwilI- al'so be apparent from the description -ofmy-improved machine for assorting .bristles that there arevariousarrangements of .def

. vices by: means vof Whichk the bristles may be taken for their feed-chamber andlaid or placed in the desired-position to beoperated-upon, as has been above described and referred to, and' -alsothat vthe movements or motions described4 l as takin-g place With jthe nippingdevicesfor v -their respectivey'lengths may be. successfully .-accom-pli-shedinra varietyofways other than.- th-ose described; and; therefore, in my .claims I vdo not intend to limit'myself to the particular arrangements-of devicesherein described,

features and objects' ofthe present invention bein g,.tirst, .to so arrange .a series' of mechan- -.icaldevices as to automatically feed, as it carding them, Svc.; and, second, to sok operate ra seriesof nippers ,or any othersuitable. seizingdevices ,in a?. reciprocating rectilinear d i-v -:..rectionfasfitocauseithe bristles'passin g through- "@13111-3,machinetofbe'drawnout orassorted ac -cordin g jto their different-len 2;ths,l `and .then placed in separate receptacles or boxes.. .It will also. bestillffurther-evidentl that the n arrangementi-.of mechanical devices hereinabove described: for feedingl the bristles tothe devicesemployedforassorting the same-mayg be alsoeasi-ly: adapted andare applicable .toV ..t .he mix-ingfof any twoorlmoieshades, quali-.- ties, on-lengths of bristles. .Toaccomplish this-v `result, itii's,onlyqnecessarytto arrange two-.`Vl Oras many 4mort-nas..may-bedesiredaof the? -gS-tlie feeding devices-in vapposition to each. '.-othe'r.'and so as to.'alternatelyroperate, and-1` `q..i;t-henl having placed intheirrespective feed-` ilig-cha-mbersa different shade, quality, or .-length of bristle, kand .motion .being 'imparted-S LIt will vbe seen :from-then. above *description` lengthsof the same-a resul-tl never v'before The.boxes -t tf', 85e., itis evident, bey

in order to allow of the easy removal .of the ie removal of theboxitself from the machine.

seizing the bristles and assorting them toandrepresented -in the drawings, the essential were, the bristles to the means employed for t0 the vmechanism-'the"bristles will then'- be takenan'dlaid ine'ven -sheets or layers upon yeither a com-mon endless traveling-belt or a stationary platform, or upon any suitable-device that may.-,befdeemed desirable to--be used.

Having thus described my improvements, I shall "sta-te myclaims asafollows:

What I claim' as myinVentiOU, and desire to have secured 'to -me by Letters Patent, is-

. 1, -Automatically conveying the bristles to the feedingbelts` for the. assorting devices, preparatory -to their being carded and evened up, .byme'ans .of positive mechanical devices, arranged androperating.substantially as described. v

.2. -The arrangement-.of the boX'T withits slidingplate Y and/seizing tongues or jaws,

so operating together .fas -to rst cause the tongues .to seize or take a layer-of the bristles inserted iu the receivinglchamber of the machine, -andthen con-'vey'themV to the belts l and vm,substantially as described.

3.V lnlcombination with the mechanism-'employedin machines .for 4assorting bristles, the

devices.hereinabove 'described vfor feeding or conveying vthe bristles to the same, arranged and operating as set-forth. f 1 p' 4. The peculiar arrangement Vand combination of the cam-shaped Wheels LM IWith their rack-bars PJQ,-connected with the box T and its plate Y, in the* manner and operating'together 'as described, for 'the purposes specified.

5.*.Giv1'u`g the pinitn a, engaging. with the 'rack-bar. off the .sliding-plate Y, a sufcient rotary. motion, While thebox ,T is being turned upon its .shaft R a's-'a center, so as to prevent a leverage uponthe same by the said bar, and thusobviate friction and binding of vthefparts,-substantially as described.- "i

6. Imparting to: thefbristles-'contained in the receiving-chamber a -motion in the proper 'directionby means; of alpa'wl, w, and'ratchet- `Wheel, c,.the said.- paWl-being arranged' and operated inconnection therewithsubstantially in the manner andv by the devices described..

`7.. The use -ofthe vertical'separator t' for piercing and .-separating .the bristles in-'their receiving-chamber, arranged and-operatin gas described.

8. The forked svvingihg-platel, so arranged and operated that While fitpre'vent'sthe escape of the bristles from the receiving-chamber it will `yet allow .of the easy-removalof-the vsame bythe devices describedff` 9.. The combination-#of -t'he-'Ie'ver-M, loose .tongue e of the slidingplate-X, and projecting rodlor arm g of thedrivingshaft,'-arranged .together and operating `in the mannerand for the purpose specified.-v

Vl0.A Automatically drawing out or-taking-the bristles from the* machine according to their respectivel lengths, fand i thus 'asserting "the same,"bymean's of a--series-of-nippers-or any rod s", having a reciprocating rectilinear A movement at regular intervals of time imparted to the same by any proper means, and' operating substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

13. The combination of the trip-rod s, inclined lever o", and camshaped-grooved sector or drum y, operating together as described.

N. H. SPAFFORD.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM B. DART, D. HENRY ANTHONY. 

